Three Vietnamese nationals have been arrested in Taichung for allegedly working as money mules retrieving money via local ATM machines for Taiwanese telecoms scam rings, local police said on Friday.
Wufeng Precinct under Taichung City Police Department identified the three as a 26-year-old man surnamed Nguy?n, a 24-year-old man surnamed H? and a 34-year-old woman surnamed Bùi. They were arrested after making withdrawals from accounts flagged as being linked to scam rings.
Local police said a task force was established after they were informed by the National Police Agency about the flagged accounts and ATMs frequently used by suspected money mules.
The three Vietnamese nationals were tracked down after being identified from CCTV footage, the police said.
All three, worked at factories in Wufeng and Dali districts, were arrested between mid-November and early December and admitted committing crimes, the police said.
They told police they were informed of the chance to make NT$3,000-5,000 (US$97-162) per pick-up by other Vietnamese.
The police believe the scam ring is run by Taiwanese criminals, amid reports of dozens of individuals kidnapped in Taiwan and forced to allow criminals access to their bank accounts over the past few months.
While it is believed most money mules are Taiwanese, a total of 25 foreign money mules have been arrested in Taichung in 2022, which is more than last year, the police said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel